Xavier University of Louisiana

Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a private, historically black, Roman Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU and, upon the canonization of Katharine Drexel in 2000, became the first Catholic university founded by a saint.

This article is about the Historically Black University in New Orleans. For the Jesuit University in Ohio, see Xavier University. For the Jesuit educational institution in Cagayan de Oro, Phillipines, see Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan.
Xavier University of Louisiana
MottoDeo Adjuvante Non Timendum (Latin)
Motto in English
With God's help there is nothing to fear
TypePrivate historically black university
EstablishedOctober 6, 1925 (1925-10-06)
FounderSt. Katharine Drexel
Religious affiliation
Roman Catholic (Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament)
Academic affiliations
ACCU, UNCF, Space-grant
Endowment$171 million (2018)[1]
ChairmanSonia Perez
PresidentDr. C. Reynold Verret
ProvostDr. Anne McCall
Students3,231 (Fall 2018)[2]
Location
New Orleans
,
Louisiana
,
United States

29°57′55″N 90°06′25″W
CampusUrban
ColorsGold   and   White
NicknameGold Rush and Gold Nuggets
Sporting affiliations
NAIA – GCAC
Sports9 varsity teams (4 men's & 5 women's)
Websitewww.xula.edu
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History

In 1915, Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament established a coeducational high school in New Orleans. Ten years later, it was expanded with a College of Liberal Arts & Sciences to become the Xavier University of Louisiana on October 6, 1925.[3]

Drexel, supported by the interest of a substantial inheritance from her father, banker-financier Francis Drexel, founded and staffed many institutions throughout the United States in an effort to help educate Native Americans and African Americans.

Aware of the lack of Catholic education available to young black people in the South, Katharine Drexel came to New Orleans and established a high school. The site was previously occupied by Southern University, which had moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana after an influx of white neighbors petitioned for its relocation. Drexel purchased the property through an agent, but vandals smashed all the building's windows after learning of Drexel's intent.[4]

The high school, now known as Xavier University Preparatory School, opened on 27 September 1915[5] and was named after Francis Xavier.[6] Also known as Xavier Prep, it remained in operation until 2013; today, St. Katharine Drexel Preparatory School operates from the same location on Magazine Street in New Orleans.

In 1917 the school was expanded to include a normal school both to provide training for black teachers and because Archbishop James Blenk was eager for graduates to teach six new black parishes that were planned.[6] In 1925, Xavier University of Louisiana came into being when the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was established. The first degrees were awarded three years later. The College of Pharmacy was opened two years later in 1927. By 1922, the school was described, using the name "Xavier University," as the only Catholic institution in the United States that offered "a full four years' high school course to colored boys."[7] While this may not be true, Xavier University was certainly by far the most prominent Catholic institution offering such educational opportunities at the time.[8]

Recognizing the university's need for a separate identity and room to expand, Drexel bought a tract of undeveloped land for a campus on the corner of Palmetto and Pine Streets in 1929. To avoid blockage of the deal, Drexel again purchased the property through an agent.

As of 2021, of the 251 Roman Catholic Colleges and Universities operating in the United States and the 107 schools recognized as "Historically Black Colleges and Universities", Xavier University of Louisiana remains the first and only institution to be both.[9]

Construction of the U-shaped, Gothic Revival-style Main Building, Convent and Library, made from Indiana limestone and now on the National Register of Historic Places, were completed between 1932 and 1937.[10] The Administration building is also a City of New Orleans landmark.[11]

In 2018, Xavier had an endowment of approximately $171 million, which is the fourth highest among Louisiana's colleges and universities.[12]

In 2020, Xavier received $20 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the largest single gift in the university's history.[13]

Campus construction

Through the years, as needs dictated, the campus gradually expanded:

  • Administration Building (1933)
  • Old Library, now music department (1937)
  • Gymnasium (1937)
  • Saint Michael's Hall men's dorm (1955)
  • Old Student Center (1962)
  • Saint Joseph's Hall women's dorm (1965)
  • House of Studies (1967)
  • Saint Katharine Drexel Hall women's dorm (1969)
  • College of Pharmacy (1970)
  • Norman C. Francis Academic/Science Complex (1988)
  • Xavier South office building purchased (1990)
  • Library/Resource Center and College of Pharmacy Addition (1993)
  • Peter Claver women's dorm (1994)
  • Norman C. Francis Science Complex addition (1998)
  • The Living Learning Center upperclassmen coed residence (1998)
  • University Student Center (2003)
  • St. Martin de Porres upperclassmen residence (2003)
  • Qatar Pharmacy Pavilion (2010)
  • Convocation Academic Center (2012)
  • Saint Katharine Drexel Chapel (2012)
  • Fitness Center (2015)

The campus of Xavier University of Louisiana is often referred to as "Emerald City" due to the various buildings on campus that have green roofs. These include the Library/Resource center, the Norman C. Francis science addition, the University Center, the Living Learning Center, the Saint Martin De Porres hall and the Katharine Drexel hall.

The Blessed Sacrament Sisters remain a vital presence on campus, providing much-needed staffing and some financial assistance, but today Xavier is governed by a multicultural Board of Trustees. In 1987, Pope John Paul II addressed the presidents of all U.S. Catholic colleges from the courtyard of the Xavier administration building. Norman C. Francis retired in 2015, after 47 years as president of the university.

United States civil rights movement

In May 1961, a group of Freedom Riders, anti-racial segregation civil rights activists, arrived in New Orleans by plane after bus drivers in Alabama refused to take them to Montgomery, Alabama. Locals, aware of the fire bombings and other attacks against other Freedom Riders, refused to accommodate them with lodging out of fear of retaliatory violence. Norman C. Francis, then the university's Dean of Men, secretly arranged for the group to stay several days in a dormitory on campus. Francis received permission from University President Sister Mary Josephina to allow the group to occupy space on the third floor of St. Michael's Hall under the condition that the press would not be alerted as to the move.

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005, striking the New Orleans area. Xavier, located in the lower-lying Gert Town section and adjacent to the Washington-Palmetto Canal,[14] suffered damage to almost every structure on campus. Many buildings sat partially submerged for extended periods of time following the hurricane. University president Norman Francis organized boats and buses to transport stranded faculty, staff, and students from the campus to safe areas.[15] Students began returning to the university in January 2006.[16]

  • Limestone facade
  • Katrina, 2005
  • Xavier, across canal
  • Library
  • Qatar Pharmacy Pavilion

In April 2006, the nation of Qatar donated $17.5 million to assist the university in hurricane recovery and in expanding the school's College of Pharmacy.[17] The groundbreaking ceremony in 2008 was attended by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, leader of Qatar, and on 15 October 2010 the school's Qatar Pharmacy Pavilion opened, adding 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) adjacent to the existing College of Pharmacy building.

President Barack Obama visited New Orleans in August 2010 to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. He gave his address at Xavier, complimenting the work of the leaders of the community and affirming the commitment to continue to aid in the re-building of the area.[18]

Xavier University received the "Katrina Compassion Award" from the United States government Corporation for National and Community Service in 2006, for the combined efforts of an estimated 60% of its students in rebuilding the neighborhoods damaged by the hurricane.[19]

Student demographics

Xavier is Catholic and historically black, though it has always been open to students of any race and religion. Today 25.1 percent of its students are not African-American and 74.3 percent are not Catholic.

More than half (58.2%) of Xavier students are from Louisiana – primarily from the New Orleans area. Non-local enrollment continues to increase with students coming from at least 40 other states – most notably Texas (7.5%) and Georgia (4.9%). Five foreign countries are represented on campus. Student life is enriched by the social and cultural setting of New Orleans and by campus activities designed to enhance personal growth, interpersonal skills, and leadership in such areas as community service, the environment, cultural concerns, and social justice.

Administration

University President
President Verret

Presidents of Xavier University of Louisiana have included Reverend Edward J. Brunner S.S.J. (1915-1932), Mother M. Agatha Ryan (1932-1955), Sister Josephina Kenney (1955-1965), Sister Maris Stella (1965-1968), and Dr. Norman C. Francis (1968-2015).[20]

Dr. C. Reynold Verret currently serves as Xavier University of Louisiana's sixth president. He assumed his position as the university's leader during the Summer of 2015 and was officially inaugurated in the university's Academic Convocation Center on 26 February 2016.

Dr. Norman C. Francis

President Emeritus

At the time of his retirement, President Emeritus Dr. Norman C. Francis was the longest serving president of a university in the United States. Himself a Xavier graduate, he led the university for 47 years (1968-2015) and became a nationally recognized leader in higher education. Among other honors and roles entrusted to him, he served as the head of several national educational groups and in 2006 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[21][22]

Academics

Academic divisions
  • Biological and Public Health Sciences
  • Business
  • Education and Counseling
  • Fine Arts and Humanities
  • Mathematical and Physical Sciences
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences

Academic divisions
  • Division of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Division of Clinical and Administrative Sciences

Premedicine and biological science programs
University rankings
Regional
U.S. News & World Report[23] 17 (South)
Master's University class
Washington Monthly[24] 114

More African-American alumni of Xavier consistently place into medical school and graduate with baccalaureate degrees in the physical sciences and biological sciences than African-American alumni of any other college or university in the United States.[25][26] Xavier's College of Pharmacy is one of just two pharmacy schools in Louisiana.[27] Xavier consistently ranks among the top three colleges in the nation in graduating African Americans with Pharm.D. degrees.[28]

Dual degree engineering program

Xavier does not offer engineering degrees but belongs to partnerships with several engineering institutions that automatically admit qualified Xavier science students interested in pursuing a bachelor's in an engineering discipline. Students who successfully complete the program will receive a bachelor's degree from Xavier and the chosen engineering institution in approximately five years. Engineering institutions in partnership with Xavier are Tulane University, University of New Orleans, Southern University at Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University, University of Notre Dame, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, University of Detroit Mercy, Georgia Institute of Technology, and University of Wisconsin at Madison.[29]

Campus life

Athletics
Main article: Xavier Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets

Xavier's athletics teams are nicknamed Gold Rush for men's teams and Gold Nuggets for women's teams. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), competing in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC). Men's sports include basketball, cross country, tennis, and track & field; women's sports include basketball, cross country, tennis, track & field, and volleyball.

Xavier's basketball and volleyball teams compete on campus in their new facility, the Xavier University Academic Convocation Center. The Convocation Center is a $25 million facility with a seating capacity of 4,500.

Student organizations

Notable alumni

In addition to former president, Norman C. Francis, distinguished alumni include:

 ClassNotability
LaToya Cantrell 1997 The first African-American female mayor of New Orleans.[30]
Jimmie McDaniel c.1940 Famed African-American tennis player who unofficially broke tennis' color barrier with an exhibition match against Don Budge.
Herb Douglas c.1944 Olympic Bronze Medalist in the long jump (1948 Summer Olympics) and the oldest living African-American Olympic medalist. Transferred from XULA in 1942
Nathaniel Clifton 1946 First African-American to sign a contract with an NBA team and stick with a team; member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Attended but did not graduate; left to join the Army during World War II.
Mary Munson Runge 1948 First woman, and first African American, to be elected president of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA).
Ernest Nathan Morial 1951 First African-American mayor of New Orleans. Also the father of former New Orleans mayor and head of National Urban League Marc Morial.
John Stroger 1953 First African-American president of the Cook County, Illinois, Board of Commissioners.
Bernard P. Randolph 1954 USAF General, retired: only the third African-American to reach the rank of four-star general in any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, serving as head of the USAF Space and Defense Systems Command. Later an executive with the defense contractor TRW Corporation.
Marino Casem 1956 Head football Coach at Alabama State University, Alcorn State University, and Southern University; member of College Football Hall of Fame.
Débria Brown 1958 Mezzo-Soprano opera singer
Philip Berrigan 1963 One-time Josephite Catholic priest and lifelong activist.
John T. Scott 1963 World-famous African-American sculptor, painter, printmaker, collagist, and MacArthur Fellow. Served as Xavier Professor of Art.
Marie McDemmond 1968 First female president at Norfolk State University. Previously served as vice president for finance and chief operating officer at Florida Atlantic University.
Gilbert L. Rochon 1968 Sixth President of Tuskegee University.
Bishop Moses Anderson 1968 The first black bishop to serve in the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit; Pastor of Precious Blood Parish, Detroit, MI (1992-2001).
Alexis Herman 1969 First African-American U.S. Secretary of Labor; director of the White House office of Public Liaison.
Ivan L. R. Lemelle 1971 Twice U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court in New Orleans (eight-year terms).
Vernel Bagneris 1972 Playwright, actor, director, Obie Award Recipient.
Donald "Slick" Watts 1973 NBA Player for the Seattle Supersonics, New Orleans Jazz, and Houston Rockets.
Bruce Seals 1973 ABA Player for the Utah Stars, drafted by the Seattle Super Sonics in the second round of the 1975 NBA draft; NAIA All American, and Associated Press All American.
Regina Benjamin 1979 United States Surgeon General; first physician under the age of 40 and first AA woman named to the American Medical Association's Board of Trustees. Formerly president, Alabama State Medical Association; recipient of MacArthur Genius Award.
Stephen W. Rochon 1984 Director of the Executive Residence and Chief Usher at the White House; Rear Admiral of the Coast Guard.
Todd Stroger 1985 Elected Cook County, Illinois Board President in 2006, succeeding his father, John Stroger.
Gary Carter, Jr. c.1996 Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans.
Jared Brossett c.2004 Member of the New Orleans City Council for District D; member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 97 in Orleans Parish, 2009-2014.
Candice Stewart 2006 First African American Miss Louisiana USA, she was also Miss Louisiana Teen USA, and an NFL cheerleader for the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans.
Landon Bussie 2010 Head Men’s Basketball coach at Alcorn State

Notable faculty and staff

See also

References
  1. http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/ xavier-louisiana-2032
  2. http://www2.xula.edu/opira/ir/documents/university-profile/01.pdf
  4. Jr, Peter Finney (2016-09-01). "The Legacy of Saint Katharine Drexel". Franciscan Media. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  5. "Industrial school for colored youth". The Times-Picayune. 5 September 1915.
  6. Baldwin, Lou (2000). Saint Katharine Drexel: Apostle to the Oppressed. Philadelphia, PA: The Catholic Standard and Times. pp. 150–152. ISBN 0-9618073-1-8.
  7. "In the whole United States...". The Catholic Tribune (St. Joseph, Missouri). 15 April 1922. p. 9.
  8. McCarthy, Joseph J., "History of Black Catholic Education in the Chicago, 1871-1971" (1973). Pages 72-74.
  9. hbculifestyle.com/first-black-catholic-hbcu/#:~:text=The%20Xavier%20University%20of%20Louisiana,both%20historically%20Black%20and%20Catholic.
  10. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Xavier University Main Building, Convent and Library, Orleans Parish, LA". National Park Service. January 16, 2004. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  11. "Xavier University". KnowLouisiana.org. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  12. USNews rankings. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  13. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/three-hbcus-announce-they-received-the-largest-donations-in-the-schools-histories/
  14. Pope, John. "Xavier University being transformed by influx of money following Hurricane Katrina". Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  15. Clark, Kim. "Norman Francis: Xavier's President Led Through Hurricane Katrina". USA News. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  16. Block, Melissa. "Students Return to Louisiana's Xavier University". NPR. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  17. Strom, Stephanie. "Qatar Grants Millions in Aid to New Orleans". New York Times. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  18. "Remarks by the President on the Fifth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana". The White House. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  19. "Katrina Compassion Awards". Corporation for National & Community Service. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  20. "CONTENTdm". xula.contentdm.oclc.org. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  21. "Norman C. Francis, Ph.D. - U.S. News STEM Solutions". U.S. News STEM Solutions. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
  22. "Celebrating Dr. Norman Francis at his last Xavier University commencement: Editorial". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
  23. "Best Colleges 2021: Regional Universities Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  24. "2020 Rankings -- Masters Universities". Washington Monthly. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  25. Pope, John. "Xavier leads the nation in African-American medical graduates". Times-Picayune. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  26. A Prescription for More Black Doctors: How does tiny Xavier University in New Orleans manage to send more African-American students to medical school than any other college in the country? New York Times Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  27. University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) also offers the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree, but, unlike Xavier, ULM is under public control and in the northern part of Louisiana.
  28. "College of Pharmacy General Information". Archived from the original on September 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
  29. webmaster@xula.edu, name. "Dual Degree Engineering Program". www.xula.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
  30. http://www.xula.edu/mediarelations/tmax_may2018.html
  31. "Edward S. Bopp". bopplawfirm.com. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  32. Brack, Naomii. "Antoine M. Garibaldi (1950- )". Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  33. "Frank Hercules, 85, Novelist and Teacher (Published 1996)". The New York Times. 1996-05-13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  34. "NBA pioneer Harold Hunter, an ex-Xavier coach, died Thursday". Times-Picayune. 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  35. Continelli, Louise. "BREAKING JOURNALISM'S CLOSED CIRCLE PEARL STEWART EDITS AND LEADS". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  36. "JAMES YESTADT Obituary (1921 - 2020) - New York Times". www.legacy.com. Retrieved 2021-01-12.

Further reading
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